Needle-picker for circular-knitting machines.



H. E. HOUSEMAN. NEEDLE PIOKER FOR CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE17, 1912.

Patented Nov. 18. 1913.

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HAROLD n. HOUSEMAIN, or rrirmnntrnra, r nnnsyrvenm, assienon 'ro sraunm ,msenmn comraNY. F PHILADELPHIA, .PENNBYLVANIA, A CORPORATION or 7 PENNSYLVANIA.

NEEDLE-216K155 FOR CIRCULAR-KNITTING MACHINES. I

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented; Nov. 18, 1913.

Application filed Juneli', 1912. Serial N 0- 704,027.

' for Circular-Knitting Machines, of which the followin is a full, clear, and exact'description, re erence being had to the accom- 1panying drawings, which form a part of his Specification. My invention relates to circular knitting articularly' to mechanism for lifting out 0? action certain needles, one at each oscillation of the machine, as in the operation of narro ing and widening during the knitting o the heel and toe of a stoc mg. Such machines comprise a needle cylinder and a cam cylinder, one of which is alternately continuously rotated and oscillated, while the other is stationary, the cam cylinder carrying cams which act upon the needles to efiect the knitting operation. In such machines it is old to provide mechanism, mounted in a fixed position relative to the regular knitting cams, which, during oscillation, act to lift the needles out of action, one at a time and then to depress the needles into action one at a time. p

The object of my invention is to provide mechanism of a s mple character, not apt to get out of order, and adapted toactwith .certainty, and which will act to lift or deress all the needles to a definite and uniorm level.

In the drawin Figure 1 is a side elevation of the nee 1e cylmder and one-of the pickers for lifting the needles. Fig. 2 is a Partial plan view of Fi 1. Fig. 3 is a partial section throu h te needle cylinder and an end view of t e picker.

The needles a are represented as mounted in a cylinder 6 and are actuated by the regular knittin cams (not shown) fixed relatively to to base a, to which are secured the pickers, one only of which is shown. For the purpose of describing the operation of the invention, I will assume that the neetjf linder is the rotatable andoscil'latory element and that the regular knitting cams and pickers are the stationary elements, al-

though the re lar knittin cams and 'ckers may e mo a le want an th action and depressing into needle cylinder the stationary element withor near a horizontal direction. The lower slot 9 is located under the rear part of the slot f and is inclined downward and rearward at an angle say) of about forty-five degrees. A movab e picker cam h has secured to it two pins f and g which extend respectively through the slots f and g. The plate 6 and the body of the picker-cam h are located a sufficient distance from the needle bed to clear the laterally-projecting butts of the needles, but the upper or forward end of the picker-cam has a laterally extending head forming a cam-surface i and a projection 7'. A spring 70 connects the cam cylinder and the picker-cam and normally holds the latter in its forwardposition, in which the projection 7' extends substantially horizontally and the cam-surface z extends sub stantia ly vertically and in line of travel of the butts of the needles.

In the oscillation of the needle cylinder, the butt of the particular needle which at any given oscillation is in advance strikes the cam surface 2' of the picker-cam hand pushes the picker-cam in the direction of movement of the needle. Hence the pin 7" will slide in the slot f and'the in g in the slot 9' until the ins move to t e rear ends .of the slots. '1 is pin and slot connection v cam-face z'extends at an angle not over fortyfive degrees to the horizontal, aifording an easy slope for the needle to travel upward. After the needle reaches the end of the camsurface a, it has been lifted out of action and to a definite level.

picker-cam and causes the needle en- Owing to the fact that the body of the l I picker-cam h entirely clears the butts of the needles, the icker-cam, as it is elevated by the first nee le of the series,-afiords no obstr'uction to the travel of the second and subsequent needles at the lower level, the

buttsof the other needles passing under the overhanging laterally-projecting head of mutually dependent movable parts.

It will be understood that when ,it is desired to lift alternately needles at opposite ends of a semi-circular bank of needlesas in fashioning the heel and toe of a stockinga duplicate picker will be provided on the opposite sides of the regular knitting cam. It will also be understood that pickers of the same construction-but reversed in positionmay be used to drop or depress the needles one or more at a time. When, therefore, I use such terms as upward or downward in the foregoing description, itis to be understood that the terms are applicable only when the picker is used as lifter; and such terms in the claims are used only in a relative sense and as the equivalent of the opposite directions, when the device is used as a needle-dropper. It will'also be understood that suitable mechanism should be provided to render the pickers operative and inoperative at proper times, this mechanism not being herein shown because it formsno-partof my invention.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is 1. An automatic picker for knitting machines comprising a unitary movable piece having at one end a cam face normally located in the path of travel of the needles to be elevated and extending at substantially a right angle to said path of travel, two pins on the movable piece located at different distancesfrom its cam face, and a frame having two slots respectively engaging the two pins and adapted to cooperate therewith to swing the movable pieces toward a vertical position while simultaneously changing the angle of the cam to permit the needle to readily disengage therefrom. l

2. An automatic pickerv for knitting machines comprising a unitary movable piece havin travel of the needles to be elevated, and adapted to be'engaged and operated thereby, a frame, two guiding elements on the movable piece, and two guiding elements on the As soon as the needle a cam face located in the path of frame respectively engaging the two guiding elements on the movable piece and cooperating to permit the cam face to be turned toward the horizontal and moved a given distance in the direction of rotation of the needles and a relatively shorter distance vertically, thereby allowing the level of the engaging needle to be lifted at an easy angle.

An automatic picker for knitting machines comprising a unitary movable piece having a needle engaging face normally located in the path of travel of the needles and at such an' angle thereto as to be moved by the needle in advance, a frame, two guiding elements on the movable piece located at different distances from its needle engaging face and two guiding elements on the frame respectively cooperating therewith and adapted insaid movement of the movable piece, to cause the movable piece to turn during its bodily movement by the engaging needle, whereby the engaging face of the movable piece is moved toward the horizontal at the same time that it is moved upward on a relatively slight incline.

4. An automatic picker for knitting'machines comprising a cam having a cam face adapted .to-engage the first of a series of needles and adapted to be moved thereby in the direction of movement of the needles, a frame having a plurality of guiding slots, and pins on the cam engaging the slots respectively and cooperating therewith to turn the cam to change the angle of the cam face and permit the easy disengagement of the needles.

5. An automatic picker for knitting machines comprising a cam having a cam face adapted to engage the first of a series of needles and adapted to be moved thereby in the direction of movement of the needles, a frame having a plurality of guiding slots, and pins on the cam engaging said slots, one of the slots being located relatively near the cam face and extending in an approximately horizontal direction, and the other of the slots being located at a greater distance from the cam face and extending downwardly and rearwardly, whereby the combined action of the slots will move the lower part of the cam downwardly and the upper end upwardly as the cam moves with the needle, thus causing the cam face to move upwardly in a direction at a relatively small angle to the horizontal.

6. An automatic picker for knitting machines comprising a cam having a cam face in line of travel of the needles and a proj ection below the line of travel of the needles, whereby the first of a series of needles engaging said cam face will move the cam in the direction of movement of the needles, and a plurality of guides engaging the cam and adapted, as the. cam is thus moved ,by

i said needle, to cooperate to swin the lower part of the cam upward and t us elevate the cam face very gradually and at the same time swingit toward a horizontal .position to allow the needle to ride up the same at an easy angle.

7. An automatic picker for knitting machines comprising an upright frame, a cam between the frame and the needles having a body adapted to clear the butts of the needles and an overhanging head having a cam face adapted to engage the first of a series of needles and to be moved thereby in the direction of movement of the needles, and a plurality of guides on the frame adapted to support the cam and cooperate to guide the cam face upward and at the same time swing it toward a horizontal position as the 'cam is moved by the engaging needle.

8. An automatic picker for. lmitting machines comprising a cam having a cam face adapted to engage the first of a series of needles and adapted to be moved thereby in the direction of movement of the needles, pins on .the cam located at different distances from the cam-face, a cam-supporting frame, said frame having a relatively long and substantially horizontally-extending slot withwhich the nearer pin engages, and

a relatively short slot,'located beneath the rear part of the first slot and extending downwardly and rearward, with which the farther pin engages.

9. An automatic pickerv for knitting machines comprising a unitary movable piece having a cam face normally locatedin the path of travel of the needles to be elevated and extending at substantially a right angle to' said path of travel, two pins on the movable piece located at different distances from its cam face, and a frame having two slots engaging the two pins and cooperating to permit the'piece as a whole to move with the needle while constraining the cam end of the movable piece to move upwardly and the opposite end of the movable piece downwardly, thereby guiding thecam face to a higher level in the direction at a relatively small angle tothe horizontal while changing the angle of the cam face to permit the needle to readily disengage therefrom at the end of the movement of the movable piece.

10. An automatic picker for knitting machines comprising a unitary movable piece having at one end a cam face normally lo cated in the path of travel ;of the needles to be elevated and extending at substantially a right angle to said path of travel, two pins on the movable piece located at different distances from its cam face, and a frame having two slots, the longer one of which engages the pin nearest the cam face and extends in a substantially horizontal direction while the shorter of which engages the pin farthest from the cam face and extends obliquely downward, whereby when the movable piece is moved forward by. the needle engaging it the same will swing on its axis toward a vertical position and simultaneously elevate its cam end and depress its opposite end, thereby lifting the cam face in a direction at a relatively small angle to the'horizontal while changing the angle of the cam to permit the needle to-readily disengage therefrom atthe end of the movement of the movable piece.

In testimony of whichinvention, I have hereunto set my hand, at Philadelphia, on

this 13th day of June, 1912 v HAROLD E. HOUSEMAN.

Witnesses:

M. M. HAMILTON, E. E. WALL. 

